Wait For The Sequel

     Recently, a young Trump supporter from Virginia named Scott Presler decided to act rather than merely point at a problem and speak about it. What was his target? Why, Baltimore, of course:

     MAGA fan Scott Presler was tired of all the constant bickering in the media about Baltimore's numerous problems, so he personally decided to do something about it. Rather than simply complain or join the online chorus, he has organized a massive trash clean up of the city set to take place in the near future. Presler just wants to help out in any way that he can.

     "I’m so tired of people saying, ‘We should do this, we should do that'....I was just like, ‘I’ve had, it. I’m going to go to Baltimore, even if it’s just me on a street corner picking up trash,'" he told The Epoch Times.

     On Saturday, July 28, the activist told his online following that anybody who wanted to come to help clean up Baltimore was welcome. He encouraged Trump supporters to wear Trump gear but told The Epoch Times that anybody can participate when the event takes place.

     "I just want the citizens of Baltimore to see [that] we do care. We do give a darn. And at the end of the day, we’re all American and if ya’ll are struggling in Baltimore and you guys need help, then we’re going to be there for you," he said.

     "I don’t want this to be an anti-Rep. Cummings event. That’s not what this is about. This is about helping our fellow American citizens," he added.

     Sounds good, doesn’t it? Everyone loves a noble volunteer effort to “help our fellow American citizens.” And how could anyone say a harsh word about the man who organizes one? Don’t expect to hear one from your humble Curmudgeon. But I do have some observations to make about the matter.

     First, as this effort is likely to be heavy with conservatives and Trump supporters – hey, we’re the people who believe in doing things personally rather than delegating them to the Omnipotent State, remember? – a response by Antifa is virtually guaranteed. So Presler has to “keep the specifics under wraps for now.” That won’t preclude such a response completely, though it might help to reduce its magnitude. Given the political leanings of the city government of Baltimore, what provisions will the police make to prevent Antifa’s specialty: violence against people in the Right?

     Second, I’d like to know how many Baltimore residents will take part in the cleanup, both as an absolute tally and as a percentage of the total cleanup force. It’s their city; they “should” participate more enthusiastically than an outsider from Virginia Beach, VA. Indeed, it should be Baltimore residents organizing and energizing the effort. But when it gets under way, my expectation is that the Baltimorean fraction of the cleanup effort is paltry, close to nonexistent.

     Third and last for this morning’s tirade, what will really matter most is what follows the effort – i.e., what becomes of the improved districts once the volunteers deem their effort complete and go home. Mind you, the volunteers, however public-spirited they may be, won’t completely empty Baltimore of its public trash. They certainly won’t exterminate all the rats that plague the city. But I have little doubt that they’ll bring about a visible improvement in some delimited sector. What then?

     You see, all that trash and waste didn’t materialize by spontaneous creation. It was produced and distributed by humans, as are all human products. Moreover, the humans that did so are the previous and current residents of Baltimore. Will more trash and waste replace that which the volunteers remove? If so, how quickly – and what will be done about it then?

     These are questions all decent Americans should be asking, both now and after the cleanup effort is over.

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     Cities attract predators. They also attract those comfortable with the centralization of services that characterize cities. A city in chaos, such as Baltimore, will be full of persons who find the conditions there acceptable. After all, they accept them today. They’re doing little to nothing to redress them.

     So Scott Presler’s well-meaning volunteers might make a difference for the moment. But that they’ll make a difference that persists is doubtful. Indeed, they might encourage the very persons responsible for Baltimore’s trash problems to assume that “someone else will always clean up after us.” That, be it remembered, is part of the nature of a city: centralized, municipalized trash collection and disposal. Sensible persons are already aware of this. That probably includes Scott Presler. So what is he hoping to achieve?

     I don’t know the gentleman. I have no idea of his ultimate objectives. But if he’s thinking clearly, he can only be hoping to embarrass Baltimoreans into taking care of their own city. What hope is there of doing so for this filthy, crime-ridden, utterly disordered city?

     I can’t see it. I’m skeptical about the efficacy of an attempt to embarrass a city filled with welfare clients, petty criminals, drug abusers, and Democrats into better behavior. But I’m not cynical enough to say that it can’t happen. So I intend to watch the sequel as closely as possible.

     In this regard, the news media will be critical. It’s in the character of our contemporary media to suppress stories that reflect badly on blacks, Democrats, and the Left. If they cease to cover developments in the portion of Baltimore most affected by Presler’s volunteers, that alone will tell a very grim tale. Let’s hope there are enough citizen journalists to fill the gap, as the sequel will tell us much about the city of Baltimore, those who live there, and those who rail against criticism of them as “racist” that all Americans ought to know.